2024 has been an insane year for hip hop. While I have been a fan of the genre for a long time, my love for hip hop has been deeply rejuvenated from all of the killer releases this year, along with the culture shifting mega-beef battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Tyler, The Creator, ScHoolboy Q, Lupe Fiasco, Westside Gunn, and many more have blasted my ears most of this year, but my writing has not reflected that. So, let me correct that by diving into an album by Cavalier & Child Actor.
It is easy to miss albums when you listen to a ton of different genres, but it also makes each week exciting. One album that slipped by me this year was Cavalier‘s excellent Different Type Time. The underground Brooklyn to New Orleans based rapper first came on my radar appearing on “I Keep A Mirror In My Pocket” from Armand Hammer‘s We Buy Diabetic Test Strips from last year. Different Type Time is a culmination of years of making some of the densest and most impressive bars in the broader hip hop underground, and the album’s positive press and attention are well deserved to elevate an exceptional emcee.
Different Type Time is also Cav’s debut on Backwoodz Studioz, home of Armand Hammer, Blockhead, Skech185, and others, all making outstanding music. Backwoodz Studioz is THE label to follow for dope underground hip hop. So, CINE with Backwoodz producer Child Actor, serves as kind of a victory lap for Cavalier and Child Actor‘s successes over the last few years. Child Actor has been equally building a name for himself, working with Armand Hammer, billy woods, E L U C I D, Moor Mother, Open Mike Eagle, Televangel, and others as well as dropping albums of his own.
CINE is sort of a biopic for Cavalier, taking scenes from his life and memories while Child Actor develops lush arrangements around the narratives. These two working together feels as natural as the petrichor comfort that comes from rain drenched soil. “Sojourn” opens with a tarot card pull of The World as Cav recalls the choices and discoveries that life has thrown at him over the years. From explaining cocaine to his little sister, to drug deals gone wrong, to plea deals, while the drumless production washes the track in a haze of memory.
Child Actor‘s penchant for jazz gives CINE a classic feel, even if it frequently forgoes drums and boom bap. “Sacrifice” feels like an old Soulquarian or Native Tongues track. Contrasted to that kind of summer drenched vibe, the woozy lo-fi funk of “Moonlight Crush” with E L U C I D‘s harsh delivery and Quelle Chris lines like, ‘don’t give your life to death/don’t wait for death to stand beside your ancestors/they’re here with us/listen,’ adds to the scope and heft of this project. Amplifying the production choices in a perfectly heady convergence.
Cavalier‘s lyrics and delivery keeps us on our toes as well. Never one to settle in a singular style, he delivers southern tinged bravado on “Gifted & Talented” before a sentimental reflection on chosen family on “Judy Is Forever”. He is still at his best when he drops rhymes packed tighter than his blunts like, ‘We jumped in they Duncan, strict ritualist/spliff lift to my lip, gang gang/flip madras to shift bourgeoise significance,’ on “King Of The East”, or ‘The plague felt biblical like it rain crickets/My hood altar Saint Ides, Saint Laurent, and Saints tickets/paint the sky gray, smokin’ on hay by the thickets,’ on “Sweet Lillies”. His gift for wordplay, imagery, and storytelling are hard to match.
After the hour-long Different Type Time, CINE‘s 31 minutes flows by smoothly. The interplay between Cavalier and Child Actor is so enchanting, however, that I already want more. This album hits all the right spots for a laid back hip hop album. Maybe not conscious hip hop, but enough depth and wordplay to fill anyone’s backpack, enough weed references to keep Lil Wayne proud of NOLA, and enough street cred to keep any of that elevation grounded, CINE is a late-year highlight in an already outstanding year.
